500 Zambian Kwacha Banknote (President Kenneth Kaunda)

500 Kwacha Zambian Kwacha (Issued 1991)

The 500 Kwacha note of 1991 stands as the highest denomination within the Bank of Zambia’s 1989–1991 series, a family of notes that shared consistent design conventions including the portrait of Zambia’s founding president on the obverse and scenes of national industry on the reverse. Across the series, a unified visual language of guilloché patterning, earth tones, and engraved vignettes tied the denominations together whilst distinguishing each by size, colour weighting, and central imagery. The 500 Kwacha denomination carries particular weight within the series, reflecting the inflationary pressures Zambia experienced in the late 1980s that necessitated higher-value notes. It was withdrawn from circulation following Zambia’s currency reform, which introduced the new Kwacha series and rendered pre-reform issues demonetised.

On the front, the dominant feature is a finely engraved portrait of Kenneth Kaunda, the first President of Zambia, positioned to the right of centre against a lightly toned background with subtle guilloché patterning. Kaunda is depicted smiling, rendered in warm brown intaglio engraving with careful attention to facial shading and texture. The denomination “K500” appears prominently in the upper left corner and again in the upper right and lower right in bold serif lettering, with the issuing authority “BANK OF ZAMBIA” printed in large capital letters across the top of the note. Centrally, the promise text reads “I PROMISE TO PAY THE BEARER ON DEMAND” above the large denomination inscription “FIVE HUNDRED KWACHA” and below it “FOR THE BANK OF ZAMBIA”, all rendered in clear engraved typography. To the left of centre, a bare, spreading tree is visible in fine line engraving, and below it sits the Zambian coat of arms, featuring the quartered shield supported by a man and an eagle, rendered in detailed intaglio work. A large soaring fish eagle — Zambia’s national bird — appears to the left side of the note, depicted in mid-flight with wings spread, engraved in warm brown tones. The serial number “AA2149342” is printed twice: once vertically along the left margin in red, and once horizontally along the lower portion of the note in black. A Governor’s signature appears below the central text. The overall colour palette of the front is dominated by warm brown and tan tones with pale cream and soft pinkish-lavender guilloché background patterns providing security underlays.

The reverse features a richly detailed central vignette depicting agricultural workers harvesting cotton in a field, with multiple figures — men and women — shown gathering the white cotton bolls amongst green-leafed plants under a canopy of trees in the background. The scene is engraved in fine multicolour detail, combining greens, browns, and cream tones to convey depth and natural colour. To the left of this central scene, a solitary male figure is depicted raising a tool overhead, suggesting manual agricultural or industrial labour, rendered in darker brown engraving. Further to the left, a large African elephant is depicted in full profile, engraved in grey-brown tones, referencing Zambia’s wildlife heritage. The “BANK OF ZAMBIA” heading appears in dark lettering across the top of the reverse, with “K500” in the upper left and upper right corners. The denomination “FIVE HUNDRED KWACHA” is printed in bold lettering along the lower portion of the note. The background of the reverse carries intricate multicoloured guilloché security patterning in muted pinks, greens, and creams, and the outline of the map of Zambia is faintly visible as a watermark-style element within the background design to the left side.

Wondering who buys foreign coins and notes? Webuyallcurrency.com does — a 500 Kwacha banknote like this is accepted alongside other old or withdrawn Zambian Kwacha banknotes, so you can exchange the lot for cash at once.

• Indicate the quantity of 500 Kwacha Zambian Kwacha banknotes you want to exchange
• Click the ‘Add to your account’ button
• Your online account now shows the exchange value

Whether you want to sell foreign coins and notes or exchange leftover currency from past trips, Webuyallcurrency.com accepts Zambian Kwacha banknotes alongside modern money and settles everything in a single, easy transaction.

Other Zambian Kwacha you can exchange: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 1000, 5000.